The Whangie and Auchineden Hill

[colinwatson]

After the sparkling conditions on Sunday, it was back to business as usual today - overcast and windy, although mainly dry.

We parked up at the Queens View car park mid-morning and set off up the slope.

Dumgoyne and the Campsies

As we walked around the level path, a very hazy view of Loch Lomond apeared to the north, but the low cloud precluded any view of the southern highlands. However, it didn't take long to arrive at the Whangie.

The Whangie comes into view

The Whangie is a feature to the north of the otherwise featureless Auchineden Hill. There are two distinct flakes of rock that stand out from the hill. The smaller one appears first - called the gendarme.

Walking to the gendarme

This flake is quite distinct from the main hillside and offers a number of climbing routes. This is where I started climbing properly with my school friends about 40 years ago.

The gendarme to the right, with the main flake straight ahead

The main flake is much longer and sits close to the main hillside. The gap between the hill and flake is quite narrow and it's possible to extend your arms and have one hand on the hill and the other on the flake. You can see quite easily the curves on the flake being mirrored with indentations on the main face.

The path between the main flake and the hillside

There are a number of geological explanations about how the Whangie was created. However, I prefer the story that the devil was heading to a witches coven at Stockiemuir. Thinking about the delights that lay in store, he flicked his tail, thus separating the main flake from the hillside.

The start of the main flake

Whilst it is tempting to focus on the rock formation, the Whangie also gives some lovely views of Loch Lomond and the hills of the southern highlands - although these were quite restricted today.

Distant Loch Lomond from a gap in the main flake

Back to the real world

A final look at the gendarme

After something to eat, we followed the path to the track at Burncrooks Reservoir, before heading north over some boggy ground to the trip point on Auchineden Hill. Not a place to linger today as the wind blew. Normally this is a great place to pause - you can enjoy the contrast of seeing Glasgow to the south and the highlands to the north.

Loch Lomond from the trip point

It was a short walk from the trig point back to the Whangie path and from there to the car.